Could Tevez be the catalyst for a City revival?

American rock band "The Eagles" once embarked on a "Hell Freezes Over" tour - so named after one of the members claimed they would never deal with each other again until this came to pass.

Manchester City and Carlos Tevez may just be about to embark on their own version, opening at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday and taking in crucial dates between now and mid-May.

The notion of Tevez emerging to play any part in Manchester City's pursuit of the Premier League title was one of the most far-fetched in the game after allegations he refused to come on as substitute in the Champions League game away to Bayern Munich in September.

Mancini said on Tuesday: "It's possible. He is getting better but I don't think Carlos can have more than 25-30 minutes. He needs to play but for 90 minutes it is impossible."

The Italian may only use Tevez as a substitute, even then for only 30 minutes, but this is an indication that football managers remain prime operators in realism, especially when their team is under pressure after falling behind to Manchester United in the title race.

The prospect of Tevez pulling on a City shirt may even be regarded as unpalatable by some inside the club. At this defining stage of the season, however, pragmatic trumps unpalatable when there is a Premier League to be won or lost.

Mancini would presumably have wanted to get the job done without Tevez, especially after lavishing the best part of £86m on Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli. He may not, however, reach the finishing line without turning to Tevez.

City need a spark and it seems all things can be forgiven, or at least temporarily forgotten, when there is the danger of a first title since 1967-68 slipping away. This is where Tevez may come in, whether it is Mancini's preferred option on not.

Tevez has been called many things in the last seven months, but at no stage has he been called a bad footballer. Fit and in the right mood, he is a proven inspiration and goalscorer. If all the pieces fit, Tevez could be the catalyst City need.

He has proved a match-winner in the past, even with all the baggage that accompanies him. Mancini will know his job is to win the Premier League and will use Tevez to help him do it if needed.

If Tevez can provide the push City need to claw United back, then the wisdom of Mancini bringing the outcast back into the fold will not be questioned. The criticism will come if it fails.

Thousands of City supporters also washed their hands of Tevez in those dark months, but it is a lot easier to do that when you are in a position of some strength in the league. It is a little harder to be choosy when your neighbours, well-versed in the art of winning the Premier League, have picked up momentum and moved into the lead.

If Tevez can yet make a decisive contribution, then at least some of the sour taste he has left this season may be soothed.

Last term, when City were aiming to end a 35-year trophy drought and win the FA Cup, BBC Sport's Alan Hansen told me: "Of all the foreign players who have come to the Premier League, certainly the forwards, Tevez has got the best work-rate.

"He shows such commitment that he drags his team-mates with him, elevates them. They see him chasing every lost cause and feel obliged to do the same."

If Tevez can recreate that mood, have that same effect, even if only for a few weeks, then City and Mancini may yet be winners - not only when it is measured in silverware but also in cash by reminding potential suitors of his value in the market.

Hell may not have frozen over - but it is just getting chilly enough for Mancini to think what once seemed the unthinkable.

Comment number 2.

Good blog. I have to say that i believe City should still forget about Tevez. Not sure where all this 'we need him' business comes from - Aguero 3rd top scorer backed up by silva, yaya, nasri, dzeko, balotelli etc. just think mancini needs to find the right attacking balance.

Tevez should be binned; disrespected the club, the fans, the manager, the city. Truly one of the most despicable footballers around. Even if he was reintegrated and city won the title, it would taste bitter if any credit was afforded that mercenary waster.

Plus, what kind of message does this send to other strikers at the club?

Comment number 3.

Could see the obvious drama of Tevez playing and scoring against United in a few weeks' time, don't think a City fan could give me a better example of a fantasy for them right now.

Should he be playing? No. On principle alone, he should never play for the club again and they should have worked harder to offload him in January, seeing as they had several months from his refusal to play to the beginning of February to sort it out.

But football (definitely) is not a game of principle, it's a game of results and money, in whatever order you like, and so because Mancini is a man of football, and of owners that hold ridiculously high expectations, rather than a man of principle, Tevez will play again.

Comment number 4.

Tevez has been that missing option that City needed all season from the Bayern Munich, where Tevez should have played from the start to ruffle the feathers of a well organised German defence, through to Everton and Swansea, where his determined workrate was missed.

The least Tevez can do is to win the title for City seeing as he has nearly cost the club that trophy. Mancini isn't totally blameless in all of this and it will be a valuable lesson next year if City miss out this year.

Comment number 5.

IT'S GON BRING DOWN THE MORALE OF THE OTHER PLAYERS (LIKE SAYING THEY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT HIM) BUT STILL A VERY GOOD PLAYER......SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOLD TO SPARE THIS SITUATION CUZ IF IT WORKS OUT MANCINI WOULD BE SPARED A BIT IF NOT THE EXIT DOOR WOULD BE A SAFE HAVEN...BUT I STILL THINK UNITED WILL WIN IT CUZ THEY WON'T BEAT CHELSEA WITH THEIR FORM @ THE MOM, SO THE DERBY WILL BE OF NO DIFFERENCE EVEN IF CITY BEAT UNITED WHICH I THINK THEY WILL PLAY OUT A DRAW ON THE DERBY DAY.

Comment number 6.

Seems to me that Tevez has returned because with the dispute ongoing he is unsellable - both parties will want to brush the recent events under the carpet so that he can move on without fuss at the end of the season.

Comment number 7.

Umbongo some very good points there about the message it sends to other strikers and arguably the bitter taste of winning as a result of his help...

But, do the City players care? Nope, they care about money over principle as we have seen and so I imagine they still think Tevez is a fine example of a footballer, and so it's only the risk of one or two damaged egos that Mancini has if he brings Tevez back

Comment number 8.

Comment number 9.

This just shows how spineless Mancini is. No player is bigger than the club and like the blog says, with the money invested in attacking options Man City shouldn't need to go groveling to the spoilt, money-grabbing cast-out that is Carlos Tevez. Would never see this happen at Old Trafford and wouldn't want it to.

Comment number 11.

Still think Mancini blew things out of proportion in Munich by airing out thier dirty laundry in public with his statement claiming Tevez will never play again. Made a bad situation worse than it needed to be, poor management.

Comment number 12.

Comment number 13.

10/ Scholes came to Sir Alex and said he missed football which is why he returned. Neither are comparable, did Scholes attempt to engineer a move at all costs away from Utd - no. Mancini knows he needs to pull out all the stops to win the league or he will lose his job.

Comment number 16.

Refereeing decisions apart I honestly have started to believe that City will win the Premier League title, surely the luck United have been thoroughly enjoying wont last and they could drop points against the most unlikely teams, you just never know in football and whilst at this moment of time every United connection on the planet and this includes some of their players are 'crowing' about winning the big one now they have opened a four point lead but I am convinced they will all have egg on their faces very very soon and the shock of it will be I suspect will be very hard for them to take.In all fairness on analysing the harsh decisions that have gone against City morally they should be five points clear now at the top. Surely this appalling favourtism towards United has to end and if it does within the next two games I am pretty certain City will be triumphant at the end of the season - que sera sera who knows but honesty and logic may at last prevail.

Comment number 17.

Can't see City winning the title tbh- compare their run ins with United's. They'd probably have to win (almost?) every game to stand a chance and maybe it was a lack of passion but Tevez looked out of sorts at the start of this campaign- he is also probably not as fit as last season. Look to next year for them I think.

Comment number 20.

@9 completely irrelevant. Whether Scholes asked to come back or SAF asked him, the fact was they needed a steadying hand in the center of the park. As has been noted above, the Citizens have a dearth of cash up front and really shouldn't 'need' Mr. T...but they do. There's only one captain of the Love Boat and Fergie is it. Mancini is trying to play puppet master and not doing it especially well. Maybe if he didn't have to spend so much time bailing out Super Mario...

Man City remaining fixtures21 March Chelsea H 24 March Stoke City A 31 March Sunderland H 08 April Arsenal A 11 April West Brom H 14 April Norwich City A22 April Wolves A 30 April Manchester United H 06 May Newcastle United A 13 May QPR H

Comment number 23.

Panic at the council squat. Having publicly uttered that Tev would never play for his team again,the prospect of having the player in the team again makes me laugh. After all the berties on here these last few months proclaiming that he should never wear the shirt again,having seen the Reds climb to the top yet again,all of a sudden Tevez could become a returning hero. And it could'nt happen to a more apt club.A plastic version of Blackburn(at least Chelsea won a few cups pre RA),they sold their soul years ago to a bloke who has been denounced by Amnesty International.No doubt if the bloke in Syria who is bombing his own people could play football,citeh would be sniffing around him. Clutching at straws comes to mind.In the meantime,Chelsea will turn up on a high and with the best wishes of all Reds with them. Should citeh lose,Stoke will give you a very warm welcome also. Happy days in M16.

Comment number 24.

Seriously starting to wonder whether City have bottled there chances of the title, with the up coming fixtures. It will be very embarassing for Mancini if they fail, all the money they have spent, and no rewards coming from it.

Comment number 27.

They have with RA aswell. This is why it could be so embarassing for City, bacause Chelsea had instant sucess, when Abramovic came along. But it has taken 3 years of solid spending, and all they have is the FA cup. Admittedly the value of players has gone up considerably since the mid 2000's, but still, should have bagged the league back in January considering the £1billion spent.

Comment number 28.

I don't think Tevez can save them. They have a much harder run in. The bottom teams are really bad. Chelsea Arsenal and Possibly Newcastle can take points of City... maybe Sunderland. For United, the only team I think they would really fear are Everton but it's a home game, or maybe Sunderland away. Unless of course Ferguson messes up team selection. Not buying Tevez was worth it, he might run around like a headless chicken on the field but he has shown shocking judgement off it. City are of course capable of winning the title, they just have to win every single game till the end of the season, as should United. On paper United have it by 5 points I reckon. As a United fan however, I got to see Pogba play the other day and I was stunned how clueless he was almost tackling his own team mates on a number of occasions and I was very disappointed. It's clear United don't have the personnel to mount a serious challenge on all fronts as they used to.

Comment number 34.

If Tevez plays again for the bitters they'll finally have sold their soul along with everything else in their desperate clamour to eclipse United. They have no stadium, they sold that years ago, everything in the club has the same sponsor, they have no money of their own, they even use someone else's goal celebration.

It's all very sad, but for a club with no history it's hardly surprising their fairweather fans get so giddy when shown a glimpse of the League Title carrot. They should know by now though that such glory isn't for them regardless of however many hundreds of millions are poured into the "project" by outsiders.

Comment number 35.

city fans moaning about favouritism towards united really make me sick. we've had poor decisions go against us this year (just think newcastle penalty given at old trafford...) the only thing that you can say for sure is that over the course of a full season they all balance themselves out!

Comment number 37.

Keep waxing lyrical about ManU relentlessness and champions instinct. What really wins titles for ManU is SAF factor: his ability to influence ref decisions. ManCity didn't get penalty and had goals ruled for offside, while refs were giving ManU penalty after penalty and ruling out penalty shouts from opposition teams. On one such night, ManU went a point clear of ManCity.

Have you ever seen a team getting 2 penalties straight in one game? I've seen ManU getting this at least couple of times and winning game 2:0.

For a further proof, look no further than ManU results in Champions League. SAF has no influence over non-English referees, as a result, they were beaten by such minnows as Benfica and Basel. Only penalties, again, saved them from embarrassment by a bunch of taxi drivers and plumbers from Moldova

Comment number 39.

27 @19-20. Oh yes,you certainly have. Just pointing out citeh were nowhere pre 2006...and not done much since.Just wondering how long Mancini will last if it all goes tits up..and how many of the "kiss the badge" players will stay. The comedy club keeps on giving.As an aside..the berties are very quiet now in the city centre office I work in...and the Manchester Evening News website is awash with bitters giving up. Now that's great support.

Comment number 40.

I think it's been fantastic seeing Spurs and City muscle their way in this year and as a neutral think it is great for football too. All these United fans seem to think the league is well and truly sown up when there is still more than a quarter of the season to go yet - they should quieten down a little and shout when you have won it.

United sold their soul many years ago to the money men as has football in general - so please don't make me laugh!

Comment number 41.

I can see the sense in bringing him back into the fold. City aren't as free scoring as they were in the league and Tevez stock has dropped so much that they won't be able to recoup a fee close to what they paid unless he shows he can still do it. Obviously no-one approves of what he did but if you want to win the league and you've got a player of that ability then you may as well use him tbh. It could seem like him coming in at the end and stealing the glory should City win the league but I think Y.Toure, Hart, Silva, Aguero and Kompany will be the ones who deservedly get most of the plaudits, not Tevez.

Comment number 42.

Tevez should not play for Man City again. They should let him rot in the reserves or stay in Argentina not getting paid. Football is a team sport, and Tevez made it clear he didn't want to be a part of that team. And much as I would love to see him make a comeback and utterly disrupt everything in the blue half of Manchester, I firmly believe the principle should reign here. How can Mancini maintain the respect of the players and the club if he shows he is not a man of his word?

Comment number 43.

Comment number 44.

Well just shows the bias on these blogs, when scholes asks fergie to come back and he agrees when utd are in one of their worst injury crisis during SAF's tenure it's a sign of desperation.

Yet when Mancini asks Tevez to come back despite stating "he will never again play for the club" it's a master stroke and a possible catalyst.

It's a sign of desperation nothing more. If Mancini can't get the best out of 86m worth of attacking talent, and needs a player that he previously wanted to sell, it shows pretty poor management. Desperate actions from a desperate manager of a desperate club.

Comment number 48.

You failed to realise that anderson & cleverley were both long term injuries in january, carrick was out, so was giggs. It got to the point that we were forced to play rooney & jones in midfield. Nothing to do with "lack of quality" in midfield, it was injuries induced.

Likewise, how often does fergie spend during january? So it wasn't a fact that he couldn't find a midfielder, it was a case he chose not buy anyone like he does every january.

Comment number 49.

Keep waxing lyrical about ManU relentlessness and champions instinct. What really wins titles for ManU is SAF factor: his ability to influence ref decisions. ManCity didn't get penalty and had goals ruled for offside, while refs were giving ManU penalty after penalty and ruling out penalty shouts from opposition teams. On one such night, ManU went a point clear of ManCity.

Have you ever seen a team getting 2 penalties straight in one game? I've seen ManU getting this at least couple of times and winning game 2:0.

For a further proof, look no further than ManU results in Champions League. SAF has no influence over non-English referees, as a result, they were beaten by such minnows as Benfica and Basel. Only penalties, again, saved them from embarrassment by a bunch of taxi drivers and plumbers from Moldova

---

spot on fella, everyone including the BBC and media want city to fail and for Fergie to keep going at the top with the 'Sky four'. Things of the past now, United are past it and the refs are the reason there at the top, every neutral will say City deserve this league title and we'll have an opportunity to put another six past Fergie on April 30th

Comment number 51.

Roberto Mancini is pathetic. He said with is own words Tevez will never play for Man City again. Personally I think this will be City's downfall. When guys like Balotelli and Dzeko who have helped City so much this season get benched for Tevez it will destroy harmony and morale in the dressing room.City now under pressure have shown their real colours. This is the reason why they aren't champions.United are on their way to their 20th title... :/

Comment number 53.

@49 you cannot be serious. I am not a Man Utd fan but how can you say that? If there are 2 fouls in the box it MUST be 2 penalties. Stop looking for reasons for United's success because many decisions have been given against them this season like the penalty newcastle recieved at old trafford and the free kick that lead to david luiz's goal at the bridge wasnt a foul in the first place.You say SAF has no influence of european refs which is why they went out so early this year yet they reached 3 finals in 4 years before this season...This whole refs love Man Utd thing is getting old now

Comment number 54.

perhaps a rash statement soon as the game finished with emotions flying, but he said Tevez would apologise before he played and is sticking to his guns and looks to have come out on top as Tevez has done so, with Carlos we can hopefully prevent what 90% of all football fans want and the title heading to the arrogant lot in Salford

Comment number 57.

you pretending to be stupid or what?? Refs don't love united they're terrified of fergie, dyu remember when he said that linesman will have to think what careers ahead of him when he gave that decision against United, they are scared of fergie who holds too much power, youre kidding yourself if you say United are treated like any other team, bias towards them plain and simple, look at the record of refs fella!

Comment number 67.

Ego's, Ego's Ego's. The more things players get away with the worse they will get. For the sake of arguement lets assume he did refuse to play, is it any worse then say hmm for example, throwing darts at other emplyees, or shooting one with an air rifle? Bang on about the team ethic and morality all you want but that left football along time ago. If hes fit and on form he should play.

Although if Mancini wants someone else to lark about, not warm up and generally act like a berk Im available for 50k a week :)

Comment number 74.

@71Are you that kid who was on match of the day balling his eyes out when Swansea scored to beat Man city?? I loved that bit...I find all this Tevez drama so 2 faced, Mancini banging on "he'll never play for us again" then United go clear at the top "oh Carlos oh Carlos please play for me"You Citeh fans should hang your heads in shame if he kicks a ball for you again in the prem, he's a good player though - he's played Mancini, he's played the fans, he's played the club.Fergie knew what he was like so he bombed him out when all the stretford end wanted to sign him up...Shame citeh haven't got the same spine to show him the door.

Comment number 76.

This talk of Manchester United getting help from ref is getting really old, One or two decisions might go your way like any other team in the league but that van get you Top of the league. Besides most of you know that with current status hugely favour United to go on and win it but you praying hard that they stumble which is unlikely to happen. Tough luck for those that hoped united would lose, See you next season.

Comment number 81.

..............................ha, not really that was in the spurt of the moment, he came out after saying he needed to apologise which he did, he's still a quality player, though we might not need him, just like the game on october 23rd when we did alright without him,

citeh? that supposed to be a manc accent, surprised you know what it sounds like...

Comment number 83.

Totally agree - there is another 30 points to be won yet. Anything can happen.

Utd might think they have an easy run in, but the relegation threatened teams always turn it on at this time of year.

__________________________________

With that logic Liverpool had best be weary. They have 2 teams in the bottom 3 to play in the next 4 days, having the joint 9th worst form of all top half clubs in the last 6 games.

At the moment Utd are 25 points from 27 and in that run they've beaten Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool. They are the bookies favourite as things stand. Anything less than 3 points for City tomorrow will be disastrous. You are bitter as Liverpool look set to finish 6th again (or below). Utd are on course for number 20 and Liverpool haven't got a chance of getting back in the Champions League which was obviously their main target this season.

Comment number 85.

So Tevez won after all, maybe they should pay him a bonus to motivate himMancini lost it he doesn't know what to do he should punish Balloteli for going out clubing but as soon as sporting scored he tells him to warm up and lets him inlet's be honest players are not going to city because its a better club they going because they pay better lot better but if you play just for the money not for the club how do you want to win titles The thing that city is missing is world class wingers johnson and milner they not good enough imagine if you will have ribery robben valencia younge ronaldo goetze then maybe you could win title and baloteli he will win you a games on a good day but on the bad day he will get sent off in most important game of the season I just love to see how he always tries to take free kick and fights with Yaya priceless REAL MADRID boss Jose Mourinho has warned Manchester City against signing Mario Balotelli.The Inter Milan striker is City's main transfer target and has been the subject of a £20million bid from City boss Roberto Mancini.

But Mourinho — who coached Balotelli during his spell in charge at Inter — claims the 19-year-old's talent is offset by his poor attitude.

The Special One said: "The guy has incredible qualities, but sometimes does not know how to use his brain.

"Let me give an example of when we played at home in the semi-final of the Champions League against Barcelona and he would not take the field.

"I threw him into the fray and Mario was static, not even giving a hand in defence."

Comment number 87.

Well, when man city play man utd? It's gonna be a tough game, 90mins on the clock? Man city 1 man utd 1, utd have a corner? Tevez cums back 2 help out 2 defend the corner? Young swings it in & tevez jump above evey1 & heads it past hart? Goes running 2 the man utd fans & takes his top off, saying there is any 1 big team in Manchester? Then laugh at the city manger? PRICELESS???????

Comment number 88.

As a neutral, I reckon by the time of the Manchester derby, Utd will be at least 4 points clear of City, meaning the only way it will be a title decider is if Utd win they will clinch the title, whereas if City win, it will just keep them in the hunt.

As for Tevez, no brainer, get him back in the side as City need players who show his level of commitment and he also has a point to prove against Utd so will surely give his all in the title run in.

Comment number 89.

As for the blog, why expect them to have any principles? They just throw money at everything and hope. So, if they can't sell Tevez, they play him to try and enhance the fee they will collect in the summer.

As to whether they will or won't win the Title, it's far too early to say, even if they did lose to Chelski. We only have an easier run-in on paper, and football's played on grass, not paper.

Comment number 92.

Have to say in all this I agree with dogeared @6; the only reason city are considering playing tevez is because they now realise he is unsellable. The obvious point is how will the likes of ballotelli and Dzeko (who already is getting impatient at sitting on the bench) react - but that could be part of the reasoning. City's attack has started to look a bit stale so this could be designed to motivate their existing strike for e as much as anything.

But will it all be too late? If city don't win the title with their squad and from where they were, it will be a failure and, as is the way with football these days, mancini's job will be under threat.

Comment number 93.

91 maybe you meant Liverpool should be wary, rather than weary. That would make more sense in the context of your original post and I would agree with your sentiments if that is the point you meant to convey.

Comment number 94.

Comment number 95.

82. At 22:14 20th Mar 2012, dogeared wrote:Totally agree that Utd consistently get more than their fair share of decisions.

The important decisions.

It's not just that however - there is tons of other stuff.

They unduly influenced the whole Suarez issue.

They get the ties they want when they want.

They get the crowd numbers they want where they want.

They get the ref they want in the games they want.

It all adds up to a significant factor in the title race, and covers over the cracks in their diminishing squad.----------------------------------------------------------------Watch out for the little green men on the backs of dinosaurs tonight when you go to bed, and make sure freddie kruger isn't under it..........

Comment number 97.

"Would never see this happen at Old Trafford" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Have you forgotten how a certain Red Devil threatened to leave his beloved club for its lack of ambition? Have you forgotten the vile scenes outside his house with oiks in balaclavas waving placards threatening their erstwhile god and his family?

And then, as if by a miracle, with warm words and arms round shoulders (of course, no other incentive than affection was required), he's brought back to the fold.Lovely job. Well done, one and all! A veritable "masterclass in management"!

Comment number 100.

#98 you seem to have made the same slip of the keyboard on two separate occasions. Also it's irrelevant! Why not just be honest and say you're not very good at spelling (it's nothing to do with grammar or Nazis).

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